Deadpool's New Comic Is a Hilarious Shakespearean Murder Mashup

Marvel’s Merc with the Mouth is getting sucked back in time to the Elizabethan era in the new Deadpool #21, a huge 80-page comic releasing on October 26. In it, Deadpool “goes Shakespeare” in a story written by Ian Doescher, best known for William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, a classic parody/retelling of a galaxy far, far away.

Exact details of the plot are scarce, and the wordless previews don’t tell a lot of what’s going on, though Deadpool’s period-centric getup is totally sweet. (His new Venom costume is sweeter though.) Still, this isn’t the first time Marvel has seen something wicked this way come: Remember Marvel 1602?

Shortly after 9/11, acclaimed novelist Neil Gaiman worked with Marvel — whose universe Gaiman thought of as “magic” as he wrote in the Marvel 1602 trade — on a story without buildings, guns, and advanced tech. On a trip to Venice, Gaiman was inspired to reinterpret the Marvel Universe in the time of Shakespeare, and did so in Marvel 1602, which for the most part people liked.

Ian Doescher's 'Star Wars' novels

This pocket of the Marvel Universe — designated as Earth-311 — returned pretty recently. In 2014, this universe’s Spider-Man was killed by Morlun, who sought to destroy all Spiders across the universe in Spider-Verse. Last year, the universe was visited again during Secret Wars, in 1602 Witch Hunter Angela written by Marguerite Bennett.

It hasn’t been so long since Marvel visited Earth-311, and what’s going on in Deadpool #21 looks more like time travel than dimension hopping. But if there’s anyone that can get away with messing things up in Marvel, it’s Deadpool.

Check out the previews of Deadpool #21, co-written by Gerry Duggan and Ian Doescher, with the Shakespeare variants from Mike Mayhew and Janet Lee.

Variant cover of 'Deadpool' #21.

Here’s the Romeo and Juliet variant, with Deadpool playing the role of Romeo: